Saturday, May 2, 2009

EDGARDO M. REYES

Edgardo M. Reyes

Edgardo M. Reyes is a Filipino male novelist. His literature first appeared in the Tagalog magazine, Liwayway. His novels include Laro sa Baga, and Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag[2]. He is also the one of the authors of the critically-acclaimed anthology of Tagalog Short Stories, the ""Mga Agos sa Disyerto."

His works and Philippine cinema

Apart from being a book author, Edgardo M. Reyes is also a screenwriter whose film credits include Sa Kagubatan ng Lungsod (The Jungle in the City) (1975), Hoy Mister Ako ang Misis Mo (Hey Mister I Am Your Wife) (1976) and Uod at Rosas (Of Worms and Roses) (1982). The plot descriptions of these films had been cited and reviewed by the New York Times newspaper.

Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag

Edgardo M. Reyes's Tagalog novel Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag had later been adapted into film by the well-known Philippine director, Lino Brocka and was given the title Maynila, Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag (Manila: In the Claws of Light), which had also been reviewed by the New York Times in 1975. It had been spotlighted once more at the Walter Read Theater of the Lincoln Center from July 31 through August 20, 1999. It was included in the said film festival to celebrate the 100th year of Philippine Independence organized by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, in partnership with the Philippine Centennial Commission, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, IFFCOM, the Philippine Information Agency, the Consulate General of the Philippines in New York and the Philippine Centennial Coordinating Council - Northeast USA. The book version was republished in the Philippines by the De La Salle University Press in 1986.

Laro sa Baga

The Film

Edgardo M. Reyes's Laro sa Baga (Playing with Fire) has also been made into a movie in 2000. The said cinematography version has been a feature film, with English subtitles, during the 2005 New York Filipino Film Festival from June 10 to June 16, 2005 and was screened at the ImaginAsian Cinema, 239 East 59 Street (between 2nd & 3rd Avenues). Laro sa Baga is an erotic romantic odyssey: an intense drama of a young couple who fell in love while exploring the politics of sexual awakening and social relations. A racy movie with full-frontal male nudity, the film examines how innocence can easily turn into deceit, and how tender passions can unexpectedly explode into violence. Several subplots in the novel were compromised for the screenplay such as the exclusion of characters Victoria Gonzaga and her daughter of unclarified origin, Teng. Other subplots were intertwined to cut the main plotline short. It was directed by the Filipino director, Chito Roño, with a cast of actors that include Carlos Morales and Ara Mina. It won best picture during the Urian 2000.